Monday I suggested an analogy in which Mitt Romney is like a starting pitcher; I guess we learned yesterday (when Romney lost contests in Minnesota, Missouri, and Colorado) that he really doesn't have his best stuff in this outing. I still feel pretty certain that he'll win the nomination -- he's facing a pretty weak-hitting lineup -- but he definitely needs to keep fighting for a while.

Just before the 2004 New Hampshire Democratic primary, I was on Greater Boston along with the late, great David Nyhan. We were both asked to predict the outcome. Polls had shown that to that point, Howard Dean's loss in Iowa, his "scream" moment, and his staff shake-up had taken a steep and continuing toll, not only far behind John Kerry but in danger of being surpassed by Wes Clark, John Edwards, and perhaps even "Joementum" Lieberman.

A quick stipulation: for the purposes of this review, I will pretty much pretend that Core of Conviction,
by Michele Bachmann, ends with her 2006 election to Congress on page
140. Up to that point, I enjoyed the memoir and found it, and her,
interesting enough to think and write about. The rest of the book is
pretty standard Obama-bashing fare.

With Newt Gingrich surging in the polls, I thought I'd reach back to something I wrote in June 2009. With Sarah Palin resigning as Alaska Governor, I wrote a feature article about the movement conservative marketplace she was entering.

...if she's looking for a model of success, she
would do well to study at the feet of the master: former Speaker of the
House Newt Gingrich.

I generally don't bother criticizing Andrew C. McCarthy, who as I have previously written is, for reasons beyond my ken, treated by movement conservatives as an eminent thought leader rather than an embarassment to be hidden from proper society. But I'll do so today as a hook to talk about what I think is a potential danger for the GOP in this Herman Cain sexual harassment story.

New Hampshire Secretary of State Bill Gardner made it official this morning, setting the state's Presidential primary for January 10. That's one week after the Iowa caucuses, and will be followed by South Carolina on Jan. 21, then Florida, Nevada, and the rest of the pack.

The final shakeout of the scheduling dance is, in my opinion, to reinforce what I've said all along: Iowa's religious conservatives will be a huge key to the GOP nomination.

There weren't a whole lot of big-money institutional Republican types disappointed by Sarah Palin's announcement that she will not seek the Presidency in 2012. But there were reportedly quite a few of those folks trying to lure Chris Christie into the race.

What I haven't seen much of is the suggestion that this may have a little something to do with the GOP's problem on gay rights.

I did not actually see the Floyd Mayweather-Victor Ortiz fight Saturday, but I know a good political metaphor.

According to reports, Mayweather was leading the bout through the early rounds. An increasingly desparate Ortiz began trying to head-butt Mayweather, eventually connecting. The referee stopped the action to take a point away from Ortiz for the dirty move, at which point Ortiz made a grand show of conciliation, repeatedly reaching out to hug Mayweather -- and was still doing so when the ref called time in, at which point Mayweather took advantage of Ortiz's open arms to clock him twice, knocking him out.

Mitt Romney and Rick Perry have something in common as campaigners: they are both much better on offense than defense. Perry, as both New Guy and Frontrunner, is naturally getting targeted these days, not just by Mitt but also by the various candidates striving for relevance. I thought Perry was so-so handling that in last night's debate; not good, but not bad enough to send people fleeing for the exits.

As I always say, to judge a candidate's performance you need to consider what they were trying to accomplish. Tonight was the start of what will surely be a series of engagements in which Mitt Romney and Rick Perry battle for the Republican Presidential nomination. As I see it: Republican voters probably like Perry better, but may think that Romney is the better bet against Obama.

According to reports, Mitt Romney will report raising $18.25 million since officially launching his Presidential campaign in early April. This is way ahead of the rest of the field: Tim Pawlenty, Ron Paul, and Jon Huntsman have each claimed a little over $4 million, while Herman Cain and Newt Gingrich say they're in the $2 to $2.

Mitt Romney threw a great political bash yesterday, in Stratham, New Hampshire, to "officially" launch his 2012 Presidential campaign. He and his team do this stuff right. They held it on a lovely farm owned by Republican donors, located conveniently for both local and DC media to get to, got two or three hundred people to show, served chili, and put Romney up in ready-for-video staging with a speech loaded with bite-sized remarks.

Boston PhoenixRomney Rebound?Published 1/9/2012 by David S. Bernstein
Mitt Romney at the Pinkerton School, NH. Saturday, January 7, 2012. Photo (c) Jeremiah Robinson for the Boston Phoenix. Just before the 2004 New Hampshire...

Boston PhoenixBachmann's ConvictionsPublished 12/21/2011 by David S. Bernstein
A quick stipulation: for the purposes of this review, I will pretty much pretend that Core of Conviction, by Michele Bachmann, ends with her 2006...